Archipelago

[Pifanjr]

I just learned about Archipelago, a "cross-game modification system which randomizes different games, then uses the result to build a single unified multi-player game. Items from one game may be present in another, and you will need your fellow players to find items you need in their games to help you complete your own."

It's absolutely insane to me that this exists. Especially because it doesn't just work for multiplayer games. The website has a list of games that have been implemented, among which games like Subnautica, Stardew Valley, Factorio, Civilization 6, Minecraft and Terraria. Each game obviously has their own way of being randomised, with some games changing quite a lot.

As an example, for Subnautica, you no longer unlock technologies by scanning fragments. Instead, you unlock a random technology by finding data pads/technology lockers. But you don't necessarily unlock it for yourself, you might unlock it for the other player.

The website currently has 77 supported games, but from what I understand there are quite a few more being worked on. Unfortunately they use Discord to organise so if you want the list of games being worked on you'll need to join their Discord server or wait until they're done and uploaded to the site.

 

[Zed Clampet]

Not something I'm interested in, but it sounds pretty cool. Sounds like a good way to meet people and work together even though, if I understand it correctly, you won't actually be in the same game world.

 

[Pifanjr]

Not something I'm interested in, but it sounds pretty cool. Sounds like a good way to meet people and work together even though, if I understand it correctly, you won't actually be in the same game world.

Correct, you aren't in the same game world, but you do still have to work together. It's a really interesting way to add a layer of co-operative multiplayer to any supported game.

 

[Zed Clampet]

Correct, you aren't in the same game world, but you do still have to work together. It's a really interesting way to add a layer of co-operative multiplayer to any supported game.

I actually played Subnautica, which you mentioned, in co-op. I'm kind of wondering which way would be a better experience if you knew your co-op partner and used Discord in both cases. I guess it depends on too many factors to really get an answer. Some people may prefer playing their own game so they can find everything themselves, and there would still be a small bit of cooperative aspects in having to find things for the other player.

 

[Pifanjr]

I actually played Subnautica, which you mentioned, in co-op. I'm kind of wondering which way would be a better experience if you knew your co-op partner and used Discord in both cases. I guess it depends on too many factors to really get an answer. Some people may prefer playing their own game so they can find everything themselves, and there would still be a small bit of cooperative aspects in having to find things for the other player.

A pretty big part of Archipelago is of course also the randomised nature of the games and the fact you don't know if the item you need to progress is in your game or your friend's. I can imagine someone who really loves the game to play it both with the cooperative mod you used and with Archipelago just to get both experiences.

In fact, I learned about Archipelago from a video of two streamers using it for a Pokémon game that they had completed many times before with different challenges and mods.

 

[Zed Clampet]

A pretty big part of Archipelago is of course also the randomised nature of the games and the fact you don't know if the item you need to progress is in your game or your friend's. I can imagine someone who really loves the game to play it both with the cooperative mod you used and with Archipelago just to get both experiences.

In fact, I learned about Archipelago from a video of two streamers using it for a Pokémon game that they had completed many times before with different challenges and mods.

I was, for some reason, thinking about a first playthrough, so the randomization wouldn't, if I'm thinking clearly, be noticeable and probably would make the game a little worse given that intentional tends to win out over random. For 2nd play it would be great. But the fact that something might be in someone else's game is interesting, though potentially very frustrating.

 

[Zed Clampet]

I think maybe I'm having a hard time getting my head around exactly what's happening here. I even went to the website and still don't completely get it. Oh well, did I ever mention I was a moron? I'm pretty sure I've brought that up before

 

[Pifanjr]

I think maybe I'm having a hard time getting my head around exactly what's happening here. I even went to the website and still don't completely get it. Oh well, did I ever mention I was a moron? I'm pretty sure I've brought that up before

This video does a decent job of explaining the general concept in the first ~3 minutes:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYHxpEI22yM


One thing I hadn't realised yet is that you're not limited to linking two versions of the same game and the games don't have to be played at the same time. Not only can you link as many versions as you want, you can also link entirely different games and play through them by yourself. For example, you can link together Doom, Dark Souls III and Civilization VI. You start by playing Doom, but when you pick up the first keycard it instead unlocks a weapon in Dark Souls III. Now you can't continue, so you close Doom and start up Dark Souls III where you now have a cool new weapon. You play for a bit, finding several items. Most of these will be for Dark Souls just because Dark Souls has a huge number of items, but you'll probably also find a couple of Civ technologies and perhaps even a keycard for Doom (though probably not the one you need yet). At some point you might get stuck again, so you boot up Civilization VI where you now have a bunch of different technologies unlocked. You start researching something else, but by the time it's done it instead unlocks a new item in Dark Souls III or finally that keycard you needed for Doom.

I'm not entirely sure how this works when you reload an older save in one of the games or what happens if one of the games has permadeath and you die, but I suppose each implementation has its own logic or rules for that.